Sail and Paddle Newsletter of the Toronto Sailing & Canoe Club
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Sail and Paddle Newsletter of the Toronto Sailing & Canoe Club December 2005 Editor: Al Schönborn Wayfarers lead the Sailing in T.S.&C.C. 2005 was a suc- Derek Griffiths cessful racing for providing season for our our fleet with fleet, both at safety boat cov- home and away. erage. Our TS&CC once TSCC was also again hosted the well represent- very popular ed at away Queensway Audi regattas, espe- Icebreaker cially by the Olympic Classes team of Al Regatta in May, Schonborn and followed by Marc Bennett, Derek Griffith's who pretty "baby", TARTS & much swept the Balls, in early 2005 Wayfarer June. July 2005 events, and who brought us an threw in a cou- excellent race ple of wins in around Toronto other classes: Island, now re- CL 16's at the named the Geo. CanAm Regatta Blanchard near Sault Ste. Around-the- Marie, as well Island Race. In late August, TSCC played host to the as in Rebels at the Clark Lake Fall Regatta in Michigan. Canadian Wayfarer Nationals which attracted 19 Thanks to the hard work of Anna Wharton and Heider entries, and was easily the best attended Wayfarer Funck, our sailing school Wayfarers have 6 new suits of event of 2005. sails which were donated by condo builders, Monarch On the Club Race scene, the Wayfarers continued to and Waterview, in return for our sailing Wayfarers on provide the core of our racing fleet, averaging over 10 the waterfront off their condos. boats on the line on race nights. The fine level of com- petition was reflected by the fact that we had several 2006 promises to be a busy year on the racing front for different series winners, including octogenarian, Sid the Toronto Sailing & Canoe Club, with the following Atkinson. When the dust had settled, Alastair Ryder- events already on the Calendar: Turner had won the overall 2005 club championship as May 19-21 Queensway Audi Icebreaker verified by our diligent scorer, Rob Logan. Sadly, the June 3-4 TARTS & Balls keelboat participation continued to dwindle, relying Sat 8 July George Blanchard Around-the-Island largely on the enthusiasm of Roy Kobyashi, Anna Aug 26-27 Wayfarer North Americans Wharton and Boris Kuzman to keep things going. Special If you wish to help with any of these events, contact thanks to our capable and hard-working Race Committee Tom Wharton at 416-409-3304. of George Blanchard, Marg Buhlman and the Codd fami- ly: Mike, Darlene and Lilly, and to John Moffatt and Tom Wharton, Fleet Captain 1 Uncle Al’s Corner... A fine sailing summer of 2005 has come and gone, and 2006 is just around the corner. I hope that you - like me - were able to do lots of enjoyable sailing during the past year, and that next year will bring more of the same! This seems a good time to reflect on how fortunate we are in that we have so many willing and able members who generously give of their time and expertise to keep our club and its many services to the sailing community running smoothly. Starting with George Blanchard’s ever present fine example, we have literally dozens of members to whom we owe a huge debt of gratitude. Thanks also to contributors to this edition as noted in the various articles, and to Annelies Groen who wield- ed the whip and gathered all the materials for me. Uncle Al (W3854) Rear Commodore’s Report The Rear Commodore’s responsibilities here at the TS&CC 125th Anniversity 1880 - 2005 TS&CC relate to the maintenance of the club buildings and property. The job description is no longer the tradi- As we come to the end of this season, our club has com- tional naval one of shepherding the back half of the pleted 125 years on the Toronto waterfront as of 9 Dec. fleet, (try as I will to sail at the front), but of making 2005. Since the club started in 1880, our success has sure that you are all well accommodated here! been due to the dedicated members who have volun- The major facelift to the club lounge this year - teered their time and effort to serve on the Board or installing the new carpet and slate tiling around the bar other committees to keep our facilities an active club. area - has, I think, been well received by the member- Since I joined in 1935, and again after the war, the ship, and I hope improves the look of the club. These changes that have taken place have resulted in us hav- improvements also have the benefit of making the club ing an excellent club from which to run sailing and more attractive as a venue for parties and other social paddling programs. functions which are a source of much needed revenue. Our activities from 1880 - 1980 are published in our Thanks to Carol Siebert for her help in selecting the 100th anniversary historical book. There is also a sepa- carpet and getting such a good price for it. rate 30-year book covering major events between 1880 As you are all aware, the TS&CC has had its share of and 1909 followed by a volume for 1980 - 1995. plumbing problems this year. However, we continue to Arrangements to combine and update data from these work to solve these by incremental upgrades to the books is to be carried out in the new year in order to decaying fabric of the club. We have installed water- issue a 125-year history of our club. saving low-flush toilets in the women’s washrooms, We certainly are fortunate to have had such amazingly replaced sewer lines and hot water piping. Not glam- talented people who have maintained our past and pre- orous projects – but necessary for your well-being and sent club operations and carried out the improvements for the continuing activity of the club in the sailing and that we now enjoy. canoeing community. Our future operations depend on the continuing support I would also like to thank all those members who have of our present members. There are many major worked around the buildings and property to help in this improvements still to be made when sufficient funds constant effort to keep the place shipshape. We rely on are available. your time and energy to help with the maintenance of Hope to see you at our upcoming social events: the this community club. I first became involved in the Christmas Party on Sun. 18 Dec at 1 p.m. and the New management of the TS&CC through these very projects. Year’s Day Levee at 1 p.m. to which all members are I hope you will, too – we have many new projects cordially invited. planned for the new year. George T. Blanchard, Honorary Commodore & Historian Kit Wallace, Rear Commodore 2 Storm Damage: an analysis open mooring. Rob had secured his boat to the ring in On the night of 28 September, we had a wind. While a the centre of the mooring wheel with the specified dual NW blow was forecast, it must have begun from the SW. tackle, and this was all intact. It was the shackle that The bad news is that it tossed up some great waves. secures this ring to the top of the anchor chain that The good news is that the four boats that it snatched failed. Although the stainless lockwire securing the from their swing moorings ended up on our beach, and shackle pin was in place - the usual criterion for a didn't drift off to foreign shores. secure shackle - there were no threads left on the other Some background here. By their nature, our "swing" end of the pin. This, combined with wear on the arch of moorings, except for the one for the Red Ringer, have the shackle, had allowed the force to pry it open and only a single block and so there are a number of single disengage the chain. The lesson: newer and heftier failures that can cast a boat adrift. Past experience has shackles will be the rule next spring. been that the connection of the chain to the block is the A Dragon Boat came ashore and was filled with sand and most failure prone, since it is difficult to positively water. However, I've seen this happen many times inspect. To counter this, all the swing moorings have before, to the craft tied off to the abandoned Boulevard had two shackles securing the chain to the block for the Club moorings, so wasn't too concerned for its safety. A past two seasons. It worked! None of the anchor blocks team of paddlers returned it to its mooring, and doubt- shed their chains this time. So what did go wrong? less reviewed its method of attaching thereto. I had Reviewing the carnage from E to W: BW2, our water instructed them about the need for dual painters, but I taxi, was washed up on the wide ramp by the west expect that the absence of solid foredeck cleats was dock. The ramp was wide enough that the motor (new their undoing. this year) which had been tilted up was unmarked. If The mooring raft (aka Fred's PWC) was high and dry, 1/3 the hull was scuffed, it doesn't show. All it took to put of the way along the beach. It had shed 3 of its 16 bar- it back in service were a number of strong arms. But rels, plus some of the cribbing that contains them.